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{{Short description|American Founding Father (1730–1785)}}
{{For|the United States Army general|William Whipple Jr.}}
{{For|the United States Army general|William Whipple Jr.}}
{{Infobox military person
{{Infobox military person
|name=William Whipple
| name = William Whipple
|image=William Whipple by Walter Gilman Page, 1897.jpg
| image = William Whipple by Walter Gilman Page, 1897.jpg
|caption=Posthumous portrait by Walter Gilman Page
| caption = Posthumous portrait by Walter Gilman Page, 1897
|birth_date={{birth date|1730|1|14}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1730|1|14}}
|birth_place= [[Kittery, Maine|Kittery]], [[Province of Maine|Maine]], [[British America]]
| birth_place = [[Kittery, Maine|Kittery]], [[Province of Massachusetts Bay|Massachusetts]] (now [[Maine]]), [[British America]]
|death_date={{Death date and age|1785|11|28|1730|1|14}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1785|11|28|1730|1|14}}
|death_place=[[New Hampshire]], U.S.
| death_place = [[New Hampshire]], U.S.
|spouse=Catherine Moffat Whipple
| spouse = Catherine Moffat Whipple
|allegiance = {{flagu|United States|1777}}
| allegiance = {{flagu|United States|1777}}
|branch={{flagicon image|Gadsden flag.svg|size=23px}} [[Continental Army]]
| branch = {{flagicon image|Gadsden flag.svg|size=23px}} [[Continental Army]]
*New Hampshire Militia
*New Hampshire Militia
|rank=[[File:Union Army brigadier general rank insignia.svg|23px|border]] [[Brigadier general]]
| rank = [[File:Union Army brigadier general rank insignia.svg|23px|border]] [[Brigadier general]]
|commands= [[New Hampshire Militia]] ([[Bellow's Regiment of Militia]], [[Chase's Regiment of Militia]], [[Moore's Regiment of Militia]], [[Welch's Regiment of Militia]])
| commands = [[New Hampshire Militia]] ([[Bellow's Regiment of Militia]], [[Chase's Regiment of Militia]], [[Moore's Regiment of Militia]], [[Welch's Regiment of Militia]])
|unit=
| unit =
|battles= [[American Revolutionary War]]
| battles =
{{tree list}}
* [[American Revolutionary War]]
*[[Battle of Saratoga]]
** [[Battle of Saratoga]]
*[[Battle of Bemis Heights]]
** [[Battle of Bemis Heights]]
*[[Battle of Bennington]]
** [[Battle of Bennington]]
*[[Battle of Rhode Island]]
** [[Battle of Rhode Island]]
{{tree list/end}}
|signature=William Whipple signature.png
| signature = William Whipple signature.png
}}
}}


[[File:William Whipple House, Portsmouth, NH IMG 2658.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Moffatt-Ladd House]], home of William Whipple in [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]]]]
[[File:William Whipple House, Portsmouth, NH IMG 2658.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Moffatt-Ladd House]], home of William Whipple in [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]]]]


'''William Whipple Jr.''' (January 25, 1731 [[New Style|NS]] [January 14, 1730 [[Old Style|OS]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> &ndash; November 28, 1785) was a signatory of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]] as a representative of [[New Hampshire]] and a member of the [[Continental Congress]] from 1776 through 1779.<ref name="ushistory.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/whipple.html|title=Signers of the Declaration of Independence: William Whipple}}</ref> He worked as both a ship's captain and a merchant, and he studied in college to become a judge. He died of heart complications in 1785, aged 55.<ref name="ushistory.org"/>
'''William Whipple Jr.''' (January 25, 1731 [[New Style|NS]] [January 14, 1730 [[Old Style|OS]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> &ndash; November 28, 1785) was an American [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] and signatory of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]. He represented [[New Hampshire]] as a member of the [[Continental Congress]] from 1776 through 1779.<ref name="ushistory.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/whipple.html|title=Signers of the Declaration of Independence: William Whipple}}</ref> He worked as both a ship's captain and a merchant, and he studied in college to become a judge. He died of heart complications in 1785, aged 55.<ref name="ushistory.org"/>


== Early life and education ==
== Early life and education ==
Whipple was born in [[Kittery, Maine]] in the [[William Whipple House]] to Captain William Whipple Sr. and his wife Mary (née Cutt),<ref name="ancestors">{{cite web|url=http://www.whipple.org/william/ancestors.html|title=General Whipple's Ancestors}}</ref> and educated at a common school until he went off to sea, and he became a Ship's Master at age 21.<ref name="dsdi1776.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/william-whipple/|title=William Whipple|date=11 December 2011|publisher=The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence|author=DSDI staff}}</ref><ref name="whipple.org">{{cite web|url=http://whipple.org/william/thiswasaman.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030118201003/http://whipple.org/william/thiswasaman.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 18, 2003|access-date=January 18, 2003|date=February 26, 1964
Whipple was born in [[Kittery, Maine|Kittery]] in the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]] (now [[Maine]])<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lossing |first1=Benson John |title=Lives of the signers of the Declaration of Independence : a reprint of an 1848 original. |date=1995 |publisher=WallBuilder Press |location=Aledo, TX |isbn=0-925279-45-5 |page=17}}</ref> in the [[William Whipple House]] to Captain William Whipple Sr. and his wife Mary (née Cutt).<ref name="ancestors">{{cite web|url=http://www.whipple.org/william/ancestors.html|title=General Whipple's Ancestors}}</ref> He was educated at a common school until he went off to sea, where he became a ship's master at age 21.<ref name="dsdi1776.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.dsdi1776.com/signers-by-state/william-whipple/|title=William Whipple|date=December 11, 2011|publisher=The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence|author=DSDI staff}}</ref><ref name="whipple.org">{{cite web|url=http://whipple.org/william/thiswasaman.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030118201003/http://whipple.org/william/thiswasaman.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 18, 2003|access-date=January 18, 2003|date=February 26, 1964
|location=New Hampshire|title=This Was a Man: A Biography of General William Whipple|first=Dorothy Mansfield|last=Vaughan|publisher=The National Society of The Colonial Dames in the State of New Hampshire}}</ref> He married his first cousin Catherine Moffat in 1767,<ref name="dsdi1776.com"/> and they moved into the [[Moffatt-Ladd House]] on Market Street in Portsmouth in 1769.<ref name="moffattladd.org">{{cite web|title=The Whipples|publisher=Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden|url=http://www.moffattladd.org/historypeople/thewhipples.html|access-date=January 1, 2018}}</ref><ref name="dsdi1776.com"/> Their son William Whipple III died in infancy.<ref name="whipple.org"/> Whipple was a descendant of [[Samuel Appleton (born 1625)|Samuel Appleton]], early settler in [[Ipswich, Massachusetts]].<ref>Felt, Joseph B. History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton. Csambridge, 1834, pages 159-160, 169.</ref>
|location=New Hampshire|title=This Was a Man: A Biography of General William Whipple|first=Dorothy Mansfield|last=Vaughan|publisher=The National Society of The Colonial Dames in the State of New Hampshire}}</ref> He married his first cousin Catherine Moffat in 1767,<ref name="dsdi1776.com"/> and they moved into the [[Moffatt-Ladd House]] on Market Street in [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire|Portsmouth]] in 1769.<ref name="moffattladd.org">{{cite web|title=The Whipples|publisher=Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden|url=http://www.moffattladd.org/historypeople/thewhipples.html|access-date=January 1, 2018}}</ref><ref name="dsdi1776.com"/> Their son William Whipple III died in infancy.<ref name="whipple.org"/> Whipple was a descendant of [[Samuel Appleton (born 1625)|Samuel Appleton]], early settler in [[Ipswich, Massachusetts]].<ref>Felt, Joseph B. History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton. Cambridge, 1834, pp. 159–160, 169.</ref>


Whipple earned his fortune participating in the [[Triangle trade]] of the West Indies and Africa,<ref name="dsdi1776.com"/> with cargo such as wood, rum, and enslaved humans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastnh.com/framers/whipple.html|title=Framers of Freedom: William Whipple|access-date=2015-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523100841/http://seacoastnh.com/framers/whipple.html|archive-date=2015-05-23|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whipple.org/william/declaration.html|title=William Whipple and the Declaration of Independence}}</ref><ref name="whipple.org"/> He established himself as a merchant in [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]] in 1759, in partnership with his brother Joseph (1738–1816).<ref>{{cite document |url=https://whipple.org/joseph/mtwhipple.pdf |title=Mount Joseph Whipple: How and Why It Got Its Name |first1=Charles D. |last1=Bond |first2=Marie R. |last2=Bond |date=November 2002 |access-date=July 10, 2020 |via=whipple.org}}</ref>
Whipple earned his fortune participating in the [[triangular trade]] between North America, the West Indies, and Africa, dealing in wood, rum, and enslaved people.<ref name="dsdi1776.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastnh.com/framers/whipple.html|title=Framers of Freedom: William Whipple|access-date=2015-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523100841/http://seacoastnh.com/framers/whipple.html|archive-date=2015-05-23|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whipple.org/william/declaration.html|title=William Whipple and the Declaration of Independence}}</ref><ref name="whipple.org"/> He established himself as a merchant in Portsmouth in 1759, in partnership with his brother Joseph.<ref>{{citation |url=https://whipple.org/joseph/mtwhipple.pdf |title=Mount Joseph Whipple: How and Why It Got Its Name |first1=Charles D. |last1=Bond |first2=Marie R. |last2=Bond |date=November 2002 |access-date=July 10, 2020 |via=whipple.org}}</ref>


== Political career ==
== Political career ==
In 1775, New Hampshire dissolved the British Royal government and organized a House of Representatives and an Executive Council known collectively as a [[Provincial Congress]], and Whipple was elected to represent [[Portsmouth, New Hampshire]].<ref>http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/declaration/bio51.html{{dead link|date=August 2016}}</ref> He became a member of the [[Committee of Safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]]. He was then elected to the [[Continental Congress]], and he signed the [[United States Declaration of Independence]]. He was also the second cousin of fellow signatory [[Stephen Hopkins (politician)|Stephen Hopkins]].<ref name="ancestors" /> In January 1776, Whipple wrote to fellow signatory [[Josiah Bartlett]] of the approaching convention:
In 1775, New Hampshire dissolved the British Royal government and organized a House of Representatives and an Executive Council known collectively as a [[Provincial Congress]]. Whipple was elected to represent Portsmouth.<ref>http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/declaration/bio51.html{{dead link|date=August 2016}}</ref> He became a member of the [[Committee of safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]]. He was then elected to the Continental Congress and signed the United States Declaration of Independence. He was the second cousin of fellow signatory [[Stephen Hopkins (politician)|Stephen Hopkins]].<ref name="ancestors" /> In January 1776, Whipple wrote to fellow signatory [[Josiah Bartlett]] of the approaching convention:


<blockquote>This year, my Friend, is big with mighty events. Nothing less than the fate of America depends on the virtue of her sons, and if they do not have virtue enough to support the most Glorious Cause ever human beings were engaged in, they don't deserve the blessings of freedom.<ref name="dsdi1776.com" /></blockquote>
{{blockquote|This year, my Friend, is big with mighty events. Nothing less than the fate of America depends on the virtue of her sons, and if they do not have virtue enough to support the most Glorious Cause ever human beings were engaged in, they don't deserve the blessings of freedom.<ref name="dsdi1776.com" />}}


[[File:Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull.jpg|thumb|[[Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)|''Declaration of Independence'']] by [[John Trumbull]] (1818); Whipple is pictured sitting second from the left, next to fellow New Hampshire delegate [[Josiah Bartlett]]]]
[[File:Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull.jpg|thumb|[[Declaration of Independence (Trumbull)|''Declaration of Independence'']] by [[John Trumbull]] (1818); Whipple is pictured sitting second from the left;<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yfI1AAAAMAAJ&q=Key+Trumbull+paintings Trumbull painted Whipple portrait in the Declaration of Independence from memory; an alleged portrait of Whipple in Independence Hall was based on a 1805 portrait of a Joseph Wipple by St.Memin "Paintings of John Trumbull" by John Hill Morgan 1926]</ref> next to fellow New Hampshire delegate [[Josiah Bartlett]].]]


[[File:William_Whipple.jpg|thumbnail|right|William Whipple]]
[[File:William_Whipple.jpg|thumbnail|right|William Whipple]]
Whipple freed his enslaved servant, [[Prince Whipple]],<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20020818053717/http://whipple.org/prince/princewhipple.html</ref> believing that no man could fight for freedom and hold another in bondage.<ref name="moffattladd.org"/> He wrote:
Whipple freed his enslaved servant, [[Prince Whipple]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://whipple.org/prince/princewhipple.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020818053717/http://whipple.org/prince/princewhipple.html|archive-date=2002-08-18|title=Prince Whipple: Symbol of African Americans at the Battle of Trenton}}</ref> believing that no man could fight for freedom and hold another in bondage.<ref name="moffattladd.org"/> He wrote:


<blockquote>A recommendation is gone thither for raising some regiments of Blacks. This, I suppose will lay a foundation for the emancipation of those wretches in that country. I hope it will be the means of dispensing the blessings of Freedom to all the human race in America.<ref name="whipple.org"/></blockquote>
{{blockquote|A recommendation is gone thither for raising some regiments of Blacks. This, I suppose will lay a foundation for the [[emancipation]] of those wretches in that country. I hope it will be the means of dispensing the blessings of Freedom to all the human race in America.<ref name="whipple.org"/>}}


==Military career==
==Military career==
The New Hampshire Provincial Congress gave Whipple his first commission in 1777. His enslaved servant [[Prince Whipple]] joined him, but challenged his position as a slave. Prince argued with William saying "You are going to fight for your ''Liberty'', but I have none to fight for."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Benton|first=B. |title=Prince Whipple, Soldier of the American Revolution |journal=Negro History Bulletin |year=1973 |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=126–127 |jstor=44175565 }}</ref>{ William offered Prince his freedom if he continued his military service. Prince agreed and by the end of the war, William ended Prince's servitude and granted his freedom. According to the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Town Records,<ref>''Portsmouth Town Records'', Vol. III, p.&nbsp;95, [[New Hampshire State Library]] at Concord, New Hampshire</ref>
⚫
Whipple was given his first commission by the New Hampshire Provincial Congress in 1777. At Saratoga, Whipple was placed in command of a [[brigade]], consisting of four regiments of militia. Whipple commanded [[Bellow's Regiment of Militia|Bellow's regiment]], [[Chase's Regiment of Militia|Chase's regiment]], [[Moore's Regiment of Militia|Moore's regiment]], and [[Welch's Regiment of Militia|Welch's regiment]]. As a result of their meritorious conduct at the [[Battle of Saratoga]], Whipple and Colonel [[James Wilkinson]] were then chosen by Major General [[Horatio Gates]] to determine terms of capitulation with two representatives of General [[John Burgoyne]]. Whipple then signed the [[Convention Army#Convention of Saratoga|Convention of Saratoga]], the effective surrender of General Burgoyne and his troops.<ref>http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/declaration/bio51.html{{dead link|date=August 2016}}</ref> Whipple was then appointed along with several other officers to escort Burgoyne and his army back to [[Winter Hill, Somerville, Massachusetts]]. Whipple passed the news of the victory at Saratoga to Captain [[John Paul Jones]], who informed [[Benjamin Franklin]], who was in Paris at the time. News of the victory proved valuable to Franklin throughout alliance negotiations with the [[France in the American Revolutionary War#Entry into the war|French]]. In 1778, Whipple followed his commanding officer, [[John Sullivan (general)|General John Sullivan]] to the [[Battle of Rhode Island]], where he commanded [[Evans' Regiment of Militia|Evans' regiment]], [[Peabody's New Hampshire State Regiment|Peabody's regiment]], and [[Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers|Langdon's light horse regiment]]. After General Sullivan ordered retreat, Whipple and other officers resided in a house near the battlefield. The approaching enemy fired a [[Field gun|field piece]] from a range of three-quarters of a mile. The shot first tore through a horse lashed outside the house before severely wounding the leg of one of Whipple's brigade majors, which later required amputation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foundingfatherquotes.com/founding_documents/biocentral/62|title=Founding Father Document - Biography for William Whipple|first=Mike|last=Kieffer}}</ref>

At [[Saratoga campaign|Saratoga]], Whipple commanded a brigade of four militia regiments. Whipple commanded [[Bellow's Regiment of Militia|Bellow's regiment]], [[Chase's Regiment of Militia|Chase's regiment]], [[Moore's Regiment of Militia|Moore's regiment]], and [[Welch's Regiment of Militia|Welch's regiment]]. As a result of their meritorious conduct at the [[Battles of Saratoga|Battle of Saratoga]], Whipple and Colonel [[James Wilkinson]] were then chosen by Major General [[Horatio Gates]] to determine terms of capitulation with two representatives of General [[John Burgoyne]]. Whipple then signed the [[Convention Army#Convention of Saratoga|Convention of Saratoga]], the effective surrender of General Burgoyne and his troops.<ref>http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/declaration/bio51.html{{dead link|date=August 2016}}</ref>

⚫
Whipple was then appointed along with several other officers to escort Burgoyne and his army back to [[Winter Hill, Somerville, Massachusetts]]. Whipple passed the news of the victory at Saratoga to Captain [[John Paul Jones]], who informed [[Benjamin Franklin]], who was in Paris at the time. News of the victory proved valuable to Franklin throughout alliance negotiations with the [[France in the American Revolutionary War#Entry into the war|French]]. In 1778, Whipple followed his commanding officer, [[John Sullivan (general)|General John Sullivan]] to the [[Battle of Rhode Island]], where he commanded [[Evans' Regiment of Militia|Evans' regiment]], [[Peabody's New Hampshire State Regiment|Peabody's regiment]], and [[Langdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers|Langdon's light horse regiment]]. After General Sullivan ordered a retreat, Whipple and other officers resided in a house near the battlefield. The approaching enemy fired a [[Field gun|field piece]] from a range of three-quarters of a mile. The shot tore through a horse lashed outside the house and severely wounded the leg of one of Whipple's brigade majors, which later required amputation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foundingfatherquotes.com/founding_documents/biocentral/62|title=Founding Father Document - Biography for William Whipple|first=Mike|last=Kieffer}}</ref>


== Death ==
== Death ==
[[File:Surrender of General Burgoyne.jpg|thumbnail|right|The ''[[Surrender of General Burgoyne]]'' by [[John Trumbull]] (1821); Whipple is fifth from the right, standing beside General [[John Glover (general)|John Glover]]]]
[[File:Surrender of General Burgoyne.jpg|thumbnail|right|The ''[[Surrender of General Burgoyne]]'' by [[John Trumbull]] (1821); Whipple is fifth from the right, standing beside General [[John Glover (general)|John Glover]]]]
After the war, Whipple became an Associate Justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. He suffered from a heart ailment, and died after fainting from atop his horse while traveling his court circuit. He was buried in what is now the North Cemetery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMH9H0_North_Cemetery_Portsmouth_NH |title=North Cemetery - Portsmouth, NH |website=waymarking.com |access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref> His headstone was replaced with a new memorial in 1976 in conjunction with the [[United States Bicentennial]].{{cn|date=August 2019}}
After the war, Whipple became an associate justice of the [[New Hampshire Superior Court|Superior Court of New Hampshire]]. On November 28, 1785, he suffered from a heart ailment and died after fainting from atop his horse while traveling his court circuit. He was buried in what is now the North Cemetery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMH9H0_North_Cemetery_Portsmouth_NH |title=North Cemetery - Portsmouth, NH |website=waymarking.com |access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref> His headstone was replaced with a new memorial in 1976 in conjunction with the [[United States Bicentennial]].{{citation needed|date=August 2019}}


==See also==
==See also==
* [[List of New Hampshire historical markers (101–125)#114|New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 114]]: North Cemetery
* [[List of New Hampshire historical markers (101–125)#114|New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 114]]: North Cemetery
* [[William Whipple House]], his birthplace in Kittery
* [[William Whipple House]], his birthplace in Kittery
* [[Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence]]


==References==
==References==
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==Further reading==
==Further reading==
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=XSDnxlK1sMUC&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r State Builders: An Illustrated Historical and Biographical Record of the State of New Hampshire. State Builders Publishing Manchester, NH 1903]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=XSDnxlK1sMUC ''State Builders: An Illustrated Historical and Biographical Record of the State of New Hampshire''. State Builders Publishing Manchester, NH 1903]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=djYEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA139&dq=William+Whipple#PPA139,M1 Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. By Rev. Charles A. goodrich, published by William Reed & Co. New York 1829]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=djYEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA139 ''Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence''. By Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, published by William Reed & Co. New York 1829]


==External links==
==External links==
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[[Category:1785 deaths]]
[[Category:1785 deaths]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Continental Congressmen from New Hampshire]]
[[Category:18th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:Militia generals in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Militia generals in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:New Hampshire militiamen in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:New Hampshire militiamen in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:Politicians from Portsmouth, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Politicians from Portsmouth, New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence]]
[[Category:Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence]]
[[Category:People of colonial New Hampshire]]
[[Category:People from colonial New Hampshire]]
[[Category:People of New Hampshire in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:People of New Hampshire in the American Revolution]]
[[Category:People of colonial Maine]]
[[Category:People from colonial Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Appleton family]]
[[Category:Appleton family]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
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[[Category:American slave owners]]
[[Category:American slave owners]]
[[Category:People from Kittery, Maine]]
[[Category:People from Kittery, Maine]]
[[Category:People of pre-statehood Maine]]
[[Category:People from pre-statehood Maine]]
[[Category:Burials in New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Founding Fathers of the United States]]
[[Category:Justices of the New Hampshire Supreme Court]]

Latest revision as of 00:47, 18 December 2024

For the United States Army general, see William Whipple Jr.
William Whipple
Posthumous portrait by Walter Gilman Page, 1897
Born(1730-01-14)January 14, 1730
Kittery, Massachusetts (now Maine), British America
DiedNovember 28, 1785(1785-11-28) (aged 55)
New Hampshire, U.S.
Allegiance United States
Service / branch Continental Army
  • New Hampshire Militia
Rank Brigadier general
CommandsNew Hampshire Militia (Bellow's Regiment of Militia, Chase's Regiment of Militia, Moore's Regiment of Militia, Welch's Regiment of Militia)
Battles / wars
Spouse(s)Catherine Moffat Whipple
Signature
The Moffatt-Ladd House, home of William Whipple in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

William Whipple Jr. (January 25, 1731 NS [January 14, 1730 OS] – November 28, 1785) was an American Founding Father and signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence. He represented New Hampshire as a member of the Continental Congress from 1776 through 1779.[1] He worked as both a ship's captain and a merchant, and he studied in college to become a judge. He died of heart complications in 1785, aged 55.[1]

Early life and education

[edit]

Whipple was born in Kittery in the Province of Massachusetts Bay (now Maine)[2] in the William Whipple House to Captain William Whipple Sr. and his wife Mary (née Cutt).[3] He was educated at a common school until he went off to sea, where he became a ship's master at age 21.[4][5] He married his first cousin Catherine Moffat in 1767,[4] and they moved into the Moffatt-Ladd House on Market Street in Portsmouth in 1769.[6][4] Their son William Whipple III died in infancy.[5] Whipple was a descendant of Samuel Appleton, early settler in Ipswich, Massachusetts.[7]

Whipple earned his fortune participating in the triangular trade between North America, the West Indies, and Africa, dealing in wood, rum, and enslaved people.[4][8][9][5] He established himself as a merchant in Portsmouth in 1759, in partnership with his brother Joseph.[10]

Political career

[edit]

In 1775, New Hampshire dissolved the British Royal government and organized a House of Representatives and an Executive Council known collectively as a Provincial Congress. Whipple was elected to represent Portsmouth.[11] He became a member of the Committee of Safety. He was then elected to the Continental Congress and signed the United States Declaration of Independence. He was the second cousin of fellow signatory Stephen Hopkins.[3] In January 1776, Whipple wrote to fellow signatory Josiah Bartlett of the approaching convention:

This year, my Friend, is big with mighty events. Nothing less than the fate of America depends on the virtue of her sons, and if they do not have virtue enough to support the most Glorious Cause ever human beings were engaged in, they don't deserve the blessings of freedom.[4]

Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull (1818); Whipple is pictured sitting second from the left;[12] next to fellow New Hampshire delegate Josiah Bartlett.
William Whipple

Whipple freed his enslaved servant, Prince Whipple,[13] believing that no man could fight for freedom and hold another in bondage.[6] He wrote:

A recommendation is gone thither for raising some regiments of Blacks. This, I suppose will lay a foundation for the emancipation of those wretches in that country. I hope it will be the means of dispensing the blessings of Freedom to all the human race in America.[5]

Military career

[edit]

The New Hampshire Provincial Congress gave Whipple his first commission in 1777. His enslaved servant Prince Whipple joined him, but challenged his position as a slave. Prince argued with William saying "You are going to fight for your Liberty, but I have none to fight for."[14]{ William offered Prince his freedom if he continued his military service. Prince agreed and by the end of the war, William ended Prince's servitude and granted his freedom. According to the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Town Records,[15]

At Saratoga, Whipple commanded a brigade of four militia regiments. Whipple commanded Bellow's regiment, Chase's regiment, Moore's regiment, and Welch's regiment. As a result of their meritorious conduct at the Battle of Saratoga, Whipple and Colonel James Wilkinson were then chosen by Major General Horatio Gates to determine terms of capitulation with two representatives of General John Burgoyne. Whipple then signed the Convention of Saratoga, the effective surrender of General Burgoyne and his troops.[16]

Whipple was then appointed along with several other officers to escort Burgoyne and his army back to Winter Hill, Somerville, Massachusetts. Whipple passed the news of the victory at Saratoga to Captain John Paul Jones, who informed Benjamin Franklin, who was in Paris at the time. News of the victory proved valuable to Franklin throughout alliance negotiations with the French. In 1778, Whipple followed his commanding officer, General John Sullivan to the Battle of Rhode Island, where he commanded Evans' regiment, Peabody's regiment, and Langdon's light horse regiment. After General Sullivan ordered a retreat, Whipple and other officers resided in a house near the battlefield. The approaching enemy fired a field piece from a range of three-quarters of a mile. The shot tore through a horse lashed outside the house and severely wounded the leg of one of Whipple's brigade majors, which later required amputation.[17]

Death

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The Surrender of General Burgoyne by John Trumbull (1821); Whipple is fifth from the right, standing beside General John Glover

After the war, Whipple became an associate justice of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. On November 28, 1785, he suffered from a heart ailment and died after fainting from atop his horse while traveling his court circuit. He was buried in what is now the North Cemetery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.[18] His headstone was replaced with a new memorial in 1976 in conjunction with the United States Bicentennial.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Signers of the Declaration of Independence: William Whipple".
  2. ^ Lossing, Benson John (1995). Lives of the signers of the Declaration of Independence : a reprint of an 1848 original. Aledo, TX: WallBuilder Press. p. 17. ISBN 0-925279-45-5.
  3. ^ a b "General Whipple's Ancestors".
  4. ^ a b c d e DSDI staff (December 11, 2011). "William Whipple". The Society of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.
  5. ^ a b c d Vaughan, Dorothy Mansfield (February 26, 1964). "This Was a Man: A Biography of General William Whipple". New Hampshire: The National Society of The Colonial Dames in the State of New Hampshire. Archived from the original on January 18, 2003. Retrieved January 18, 2003.
  6. ^ a b "The Whipples". Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  7. ^ Felt, Joseph B. History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton. Cambridge, 1834, pp. 159–160, 169.
  8. ^ "Framers of Freedom: William Whipple". Archived from the original on 2015-05-23. Retrieved 2015-03-27.
  9. ^ "William Whipple and the Declaration of Independence".
  10. ^ Bond, Charles D.; Bond, Marie R. (November 2002), Mount Joseph Whipple: How and Why It Got Its Name (PDF), retrieved July 10, 2020 – via whipple.org
  11. ^ http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/declaration/bio51.html[dead link‍]
  12. ^ Trumbull painted Whipple portrait in the Declaration of Independence from memory; an alleged portrait of Whipple in Independence Hall was based on a 1805 portrait of a Joseph Wipple by St.Memin "Paintings of John Trumbull" by John Hill Morgan 1926
  13. ^ "Prince Whipple: Symbol of African Americans at the Battle of Trenton". Archived from the original on 2002-08-18.
  14. ^ Benton, B. (1973). "Prince Whipple, Soldier of the American Revolution". Negro History Bulletin. 36 (4): 126–127. JSTOR 44175565.
  15. ^ Portsmouth Town Records, Vol. III, p. 95, New Hampshire State Library at Concord, New Hampshire
  16. ^ http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/declaration/bio51.html[dead link‍]
  17. ^ Kieffer, Mike. "Founding Father Document - Biography for William Whipple".
  18. ^ "North Cemetery - Portsmouth, NH". waymarking.com. Retrieved August 24, 2019.

Further reading

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Wikiquote has quotations related to William Whipple.
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